The quality of your board meetings depends protectednetwork.org on the amount of work your board members complete prior to each meeting. Online meetings are more productive and efficient if participants are prepared. A well-prepared team is more likely to stick to the agenda and ensure that they aren’t distracted by divergent thoughts.

It’s crucial to communicate clearly to board members from remote locations how they can participate in meetings. For instance, it’s a good idea to remind them to silence themselves and only speak when requested to speak. This prevents people from talking over each other or leaving a meeting not feeling heard. It’s also crucial for the convener to ask participants for assistance with a technology problem before getting started.

It’s also beneficial to include the rules for meetings that are virtual in the materials for board member orientation to ensure that everyone has clear understanding of what’s required of them prior and after the meeting. For instance it’s important to communicate the agenda ahead of time, and to follow up with participants a day or a morning prior to the meeting to confirm the details, provide them with the link to the meeting or Zoom to confirm, and remind them of any other preferences for meetings (such as asking attendees to tune in from a quiet location to limit distractions). It is suggested that you include a placeholder for an executive session to every item on the agenda and include it at the beginning of the meeting in order to avoid confusion.